Actress Celina Jaitly Talks About Her Life-Altering Relationship With A Closeted Gay Man

Former Miss India and actor Celina Jaitly will soon switch gears from her sabbatical and make her way back to the silver screen. She is all set to make her comeback with Ram Kamal Mukherjee's short film titled 'Season's Greetings: A Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh'.

However, it's not her comeback that you want to know about, right? But we had to give you a overview because the two things are related. During a recent interview with HT, the UN goodwill ambassador for LGBTQ rights opened up about her upcoming movie and life over the last few years.

During the interview Celina shared how the theme of her next movie is close to her, and how her interactions with gay men changed her life altogether. Speaking to HT, she said, “A famous gay Kolkata based make-up artist was a mother figure to me in my struggling days as a model there. I closely observed his trials and tribulations as a gay middle-aged man, then as a senior citizen. Incidentally, at the same time I was in a traumatic relationship with a closeted gay man”.

Talking about how these encounters impacted her life, as well as her understanding of the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community, she said, “At 16, you think prayers and shamans can fix this. Their untimely deaths a few years later made me realise that everyone has the right to life and choose whom they can have a relationship with. I had to do something about it. After 12 years as an activist, the United Nations appointed me as a goodwill ambassador for the same cause and today we have come full circle after the abolishment of Section 377”.

We already know that Celina has been a prominent proponent of the LGBTQ community, and has come on record on multiple occasions to show her solidarity with the community. While as a young woman she might not have known how to add value to the lives of the non-represented, she surely found a way to make the silenced voices heard when she got hold of the means.

Her personal interactions not only shaped her own life, but helped her to take initiatives that would make the lives of LGBTQ community better. It made her devote her life to a bigger purpose, and we appreciate what she has achieved so far.